


Glee Reprise 1x02: Back-Up

by Sparky_Young_Upstart



Series: Glee Reprise [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Cheerleaders, Deaf Character, Estranged Siblings, Future Fic, Gen, Musical References, Sequel, strained sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25277623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparky_Young_Upstart/pseuds/Sparky_Young_Upstart
Summary: The Reprisals have just been formed, and Beth is eager to make sure she secures the top spot and prove her worth. But in order to do that she not only has to win over the rest of the club and show Tony the show choir ropes, but also deal with Monica's growing closeness with Vocal Adrenaline. Meanwhile, Rachel's attempts to seek out new members result in some unexpected arrivals.
Relationships: Beth Corcoran & Shelby Corcoran, Rachel Berry & Beth Corcoran
Series: Glee Reprise [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1509125
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So a lot has happened between now and when I posted the previous episode, obviously the biggest thing being Naya's passing. I've been beside myself the past few days but fortunately I have friends that I can talk my emotions out with. RIP Naya, you were amazing.
> 
> I wasn't certain I was going to keep going with this fic after so much happening, but honestly my OCs are not only too powerful for me to ignore but too specific to this world for me to pull them out of it and put them in something else. So I'm just gonna press on and see how things develop.

It had taken a week, but Beth finally felt like she was starting to find her place in the school. Sure, she hadn't made it into Vocal Adrenaline, but The Reprisals was a perfect opportunity for her to flex her skills - and at least now she didn't have to worry about being upstaged by senior classmen. Rachel was...still here, but over the weekend she had focused on getting things prepared at the community centre, which meant Beth finally had some time to herself. Now obviously Rachel was going to hear her sing in the club, but Beth preferred training herself away from her sister - something about the woman's presence made Beth self-conscious and threw her off her game. So while Rachel was over at the community centre, Beth stood in her room and figured out what she'd be singing for the next Club meeting.

She hadn't had much contact with them over the past few days, focusing on herself instead, but she did manage to keep up with texting Tony over the weekend and when Monday rolled back around she quickly found him so she could walk with him before class.

"So, I've narrowed my first official Glee solo down to five songs."

"Wait, five? Wait, solo?" Tony grimaced. "Sorry, were we supposed to prepare something? If there was homework, nobody told me."

Beth grinned. "No, there's no homework. Not yet at least? I guess you're kind of out of the loop when it comes to glee stuff."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it. I know we sing, and that there's some kind of competition? But I haven't picked up on anything in my year here with Vocal Adrenaline going on in the background."

"Huh. Okay, well, there are a bunch of competitive show choirs across the country. The competition itself is divided into sectionals, regionals, and nationals at the end, and the winners of each round get trophies and a small cash prize for their school - or I guess community centre in this case? I'm not sure how that would work. Anyway, even though each choir needs to develop it's own setlist and musical numbers for competitions, an important part of the trade is members practising and showcasing a variety of numbers in order to build on their musical skills." She turned to him. "So basically, if you feel like you have a cool idea for a song you wanna sing or a duet you wanna do, glee club is the place to do it!"

He nodded again. "Right. Okay, I...think that makes sense. I still don't have any of those. Musical ideas, I mean."

"That's fine!" Beth replied eagerly. "You're still getting used to this. I'm just glad that you're able to sing. And that means that if I ever need backup for a number I can always call on you."

"Oh. Thanks!"

"Mmm, don't get your hopes up honey." Julian's voice floated over to the duo shortly before he appeared between them. "You're lovely, but I need somebody strong enough to help me keep Aaliyah on the ropes." He turned to Beth. "She has her sidekick, and I need one of my own." He looked Beth up and down. "Style might take some work, but your pipes are strong enough to supplement mine."

Beth scoffed. "Excuse me? If anyone is supplementing anyone it's you to me!"

"That was weird phrasing," Tony tried to say, but Julian and Beth didn't hear him.

"Oh please, you should know by now that I am the most powerful vocalist on the team. Or at least you would if you bothered to actually attend auditions."

"I auditioned on my own time," Beth snapped back, which was technically true - Rachel had heard her sing and Beth was sure that was the reason she'd been inspired to start The Reprisals. "Rachel thought I was great and invited me to join on the spot."

"Funny, she did the same with me."

"Well she's clearly just looking for seat filler."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"Are you two about to fight? Or...or dance fight? I don't understand what the hell is going on here."

Julian whipped around to look at Tony. "Listen, you're at least familiar with the culture surrounding Vocal Adrenaline, right?" Tony nodded. "Good. Then you know this isn't a hunky-dory Disney sing-a-long club. This is serious business and sooner or later you're going to have to pick a horse to back. Make sure it's the right one."

Tony and Beth watched Julian storm away, the latter fuming. "Can you believe the nerve of him? Acting like I'm not as good a performer as he is."

"I mean y'all kind of said the same things to each other."

"That doesn't matter! If he knew that this glee club belonged to _me_ , he would not be acting like that."

Tony gave Beth a concerned look. "Hold up. _Your_ glee club?"

"Uh, yeah? Rachel made it for me, so obviously I should get the lead by default."

"That doesn't sound right at all..."

Beth huffed. "Sorry, we'll have to talk about this later Tony. I've gotta get to class." Beth ran off, and Tony was left alone in the hall.

"But...I...also have to get to class." As he jogged towards room, he grimaced internally. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

In their office, the Vocal Adrenaline Student Council re-watched a projection of The Reprisals first performance video for the tenth time that week.

"They're good," Patrick said.

"They're not that good," Ivy replied.

"Better than we expected them to be."

"They're _fine_. Which is nowhere near good, and especially not good enough to be a threat to us." She turned to Charles. "Please tell Patrick that they aren't a problem."

Charles reclined in his seat, tapping a pen against the desk in thought. "They're not a threat." Ivy was about to thank him when he continued. " _Yet_. They're a horrible mishmash of unfocused abilities in that video, but that doesn't mean they couldn't hone their skills. Not to mention Rachel Berry is coaching them."

"So what?" Ivy spat. "We kicked her out of here last week because we didn't want her."

"That was obviously because we didn't want to cede power to her," Patrick stated.

"Obviously," Charles agreed. " _But_ , Berry knows how to rally misfits and if there's one thing I can't stand it's misfits getting rallied. You do that and you end up with a bunch of nobodies who think the world owes them everything because they believe in themselves. As my dad always said, you either know your place in the world or get broken trying to fit somewhere else." He stood up and walked over to the projection. "These children will break easily, but I would quite enjoy it if it were _us_ who were doing the breaking." He reached up and tapped the image of Beth being projected onto their screen. "That girl auditioned with her best friend, who just so happens to be one of our best new recruits. Imagine how bad she would feel if that friendship went up in flames."

Ivy paused, then spread her lips in a devilish smirk. "Oh, I love the sound of that."


	2. Chapter 2

Beth and Monica happened to have one class together in the mornings, and this would be one of the first times Beth attempted to actually speak with her since school had started. Before she entered the room she had to stop and take a breath, focusing on what was important - their friendship. The two of them had been inseparable since they first met, and Beth didn’t want to let something like this get between the two of them - even if Vocal Adrenaline was the most powerful show choir in the state and she’d been preparing for it since she could sing.

She prepared for the worst when she sat down across from Monica at the lab table, but when Monica saw her coming to join her she broke out into a huge grin. “Beth! Hi!” She was bouncing with joy. “It’s been a wild week, hasn’t it?”

Beth nodded. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“I saw your club’s performance video that your sister posted.”

Beth flinched. “Oh no, she posted it?”

Monica shook her head. “No, it was pretty good! At least, I think so. A lot of people in Vocal Adrenaline said it was just okay, but they don’t know you like I do.”

Beth reeled from the comment. “They saw me? Vocal Adrenaline saw me? And they thought I was average?” She buried her face in her hands. “Ugh, this is even worse than I thought.”

“Hey, no! You heard me say you were great, right? Besides, you have The Reprisals now! You’re gonna be fine!”

Beth nodded weakly. “Yeah, sure. I don’t know, I still feel like I’m alone in there sometimes. I mean, Tony’s great, and Rachel is...there, and the rest of the students are fine, but you’re my bestie. I planned this whole school year around being able to sing with you the whole time.” She tossed a pointed glance at her friend. “You know, we’re only halfway to the membership requirement. I’m sure Rachel would let you in in a heartbeat.”

Monica shook her head. “Thanks, but you know Vocal Adrenaline is where it’s at. Like I don’t wanna get cocky, but I can already tell we're gonna go all the way to nationals.”

Beth was surprised - that level of confidence was a new look on Monica. Where had that come from? She would have asked if Monica hadn’t leaned over to start digging through her bag. When she came back, she held up a pair of car keys. “Check it out!”

“Uh...what are those?”

“Keys to a new Cadillac! Isn't that just the coolest?!"

"Monica, you can't even drive yet."

Monica shrugged. "Yeah, but it's still rad. My dad can drive it, and he thinks it's awesome."

"Well...The Reprisals have permission to use the basketball court at the community centre whenever we want to."

Monica nodded. "Neat!"

Once class started in earnest, Beth tried to focus on the actual work, but every few minutes Monica would whisper to her another fun fact about being in Vocal Adrenaline. They had private tutors to help them cram for finals. They bought all members a tailored wardrobe and makeover. If she wanted, they could get her a horse - just because. Beth tried so hard not to get jealous, but perk after perk started swirling around her brain thanks to Monica's bragging. She almost didn't recognize her, and for a moment wondered if she was wrong - that show choir was going to be _the_ thing that drove a wedge between the two of them. She had to try something.

"At least visit a rehearsal!" she blurted, cutting off whatever cool thing Monica was going to wax poetic about next. Monica stopped and looked at Beth.

"Um...isn't that illegal?"

Beth furrowed her brow. "How would that be illegal?"

"I mean, not _illegal_ illegal, but show choir illegal. Like, wouldn't your teammates think I was spying on y'all?"

Beth scoffed. "Pfft, nah. I'm sure they wouldn't care." She thought. "Well, Julian might. And Aaliyah's usually on the same wavelength as him so she probably would too...and Camilla too. But I mean, that's only three!"

"Out of six. I think it would be a bad idea. But maybe we could find a time to hang out, just the two of us?" Monica pulled out a day planner and started scanning it. "I think I'm free some time in October." She gave Beth a pitying look. "Sorry, VA likes scheduling things out in advance."

"And a lot." Beth just slouched in her chair. "It's fine. I'm sure you've already got loads of friends to hang out with in there anyway."

"Oh totally! Actually, I get to go out with Ivy and Patrick later this week for a spa day."

"Of course you do," Beth murmured, looking at Monica from what seemed like miles away. "Of course you do."

* * *

As the lunch bell rang and classes let out, Aaliyah strode down the halls and Camilla quickly fell into step beside her. "Talk to me babe."

"It's not looking good. Julian's not going to buckle, and it sounds like Beth is gunning for lead singer too. Tony sounds too out of his element to throw his weight behind anyone, and Luke is just happy to be here - or at least that was the _one_ text he sent me over the past two days. Boy does not like socializing apparently. Not even social media!"

"I mean that's probably a smart choice, but I was really hoping he'd end up on our side." Aaliyah pulled out a handwritten to-do list from her pocket and checked. "Alright, in that case we're going to have to find backup outside of the current membership."

Camilla nodded. "I had the same idea. I'm thinking we aim for senior classmen who've been rejected from Vocal Adrenaline all four years. That much bitterness should translate in some quality show choir energy."

"I like the conceit. Let's put it on the backburner for now - I think I have something a bit more fresh." Aaliyah gestured for Camilla to follow her, and the two quickly made their way to the green. As the late fall sun shone across the students eating lunch, the cheer squad was just finishing their warm-up stretches.

"Okay ladies! Fall in!" called out a statuesque Black girl from the front of the team. Everyone quickly got into formation. "Bradley, hit it." She waited for a queue that never came, and looked over to the bleachers. Her boyfriend Bradley sat lazily beside a stereo, fully absorbed in whatever article he was reading in the video game magazine he held. "Bradley!" She called louder, enough for him to actually notice.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry Sharice!" He quickly hit the button on the stereo, and Sharice's jam came on as she began to sing and dance with the rest of the squad.

 _Imma break you off, let me be your motivation  
_ _To stay and give it tonight  
_ _And, baby, turn around, let me give you innovation, hey  
_ _'Cause I do it so right_

 _You got that good good, baby, don't you?  
_ _Got that good good, baby, don't you?  
_ _But you leavin' solo  
_ _Ain't regular, that ain't regular  
_ _I ain't gon' keep, keep fightin' for it  
_ _Ain't gon' keep, keep fightin' for it  
_ _'Cause you know this thing here  
_ _Ain't regular, that ain't regular_

 _Fallin' into the bed  
_ _Why would we ever do somethin' instead of  
_ _Fallin' into the bed right now? Yeah_

The routine was punctuated with impeccable footwork and plenty of tricks, but clearly much more singing and dancing than one would expect from your average cheer team.

 _Imma break you off, let me be your motivation  
_ _To stay and give it tonight  
_ _And, baby, turn around, let me give you innovation  
_ _Hey, 'cause I do it so right  
_ _Think about it, ooh, I think about it  
_ _Think about it, ooh, take a look at me now  
_ _Hey, a little motivation, alright_

As Aaliyah and Camilla watched the performance, Camilla groaned. "Really? You wanna bring cheerleaders into this? I thought we agreed we were going to aim for people who _wouldn't_ try to upstage us at every turn?"

Aaliyah shook her head. "I know it's a risk, but we already know that Sharice can actually sing. Besides, we follow each other on instagram, so there's a mutual respect."

"I'm almost certain that's not how that works."

Aaliyah raised her eyebrow. "You follow her too. I saw it when I was checking."

Camilla grimaced. "That's...okay it's just so I can keep tabs on whether her and Bradley are still together."

"Ah, the childhood crush is still strong."

"Hey, it is _not_ a childhood crush, okay? Much like myself it has matured into the full-bodied crush of a grown woman."

"Right. Well, in that case, ever heard of the phrase keep your enemies closer?"

 _Imma break you off, let me be your motivation  
_ _To stay and give it tonight  
_ _And, baby, turn around, let me give you innovation  
_ _Hey, 'cause I do it so right  
_ _Think about it, ooh, I think about it  
_ _Think about it, ooh, take a look at me now (ooh)  
_ _Hey, a little motivation, alright!_

As the number came to a close, Aaliyah walked right up to the group, Camilla trailing behind. "Nice work ladies!" she called as she gave a small clap. Camilla didn't, but she managed to offer a weak smile. Sharice took a big swig of water before sauntering up to the audience.

"Thanks. Who are you?"

"I'm Aaliyah Najm, this is my friend Camilla, and we wanted to know if you - or any of the fine ladies on the team - would be interested in joining our glee club?"

Sharice scoffed. "Glee? Sorry, you must be new here. Anyone on the team who was good enough to get into Vocal Adrenaline is already there."

Aaliyah nodded. "Sure, sure, but I'm actually talking about a different glee club. The Reprisals? We're new, based out of the Kenmore Community Centre. Perhaps you've heard of us?" She handed over a flyer just in case, which Sharice scanned quickly.

"Huh. Rogue glee club. I can dig it." Then she crumpled up the paper and tossed it aside. "But you've gotta be dreaming if you think that we're going to subject ourselves to social mediocrity by joining it."

"Um, excuse me?" Camilla snapped as she stepped up to the two of them. "How come our club is 'mediocre', but Vocal Adrenaline is so popular that not only does it have cheerleaders in it, but they technically sponsor this very football field?!"

Sharice held her hand up. "Take it down a notch. You just answered your own question. Vocal Adrenaline's popularity is a perpetual motion machine, like the Kardashians. They're at the top because they just are, and any club that tries to challenge that is going to be immediately targeted for annihilation. Besides, the cheerleaders you're thinking about are Vocal Adrenaline first, Camels second. We're basically glorified backup for Patrick and Ivy to get even more practice in." She crossed her arms. "If they even caught wind that anyone here was having a dalliance with your club, they'd strip them of their colours in the blink of an eye. Also," and here she levelled her gaze at Camilla, "I don't want to be on the same club as a _stalker_."

Camilla was shocked only for a moment before she started advancing, ready to throw down. "Who are you calling stalker, honey?"

"Aah! Camilla, not the place!" Aaliyah positioned herself between the two other girls, hoping to avoid a scene.

Behind Sharice, the other cheerleaders giggled. Sharice just smirked. "Tell your friend to find someone else to pine after before you try to recruit their girlfriend, why don't ya?"

"Girlfriend? Uh, sure, for this week maybe!" Camilla called as Aaliyah guided her away from the cheerleaders. "I have receipts!"

Sharice just went back to the squad, ignoring the interruption.

"She's got a lot of nerve," Camilla snarled to Aaliyah.

"Yeah, well, she's a cheerleader. They're made of nerves. Let's just go get something to eat, and maybe we'll try your plan, okay?"

"Whatever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song featured in this chapter: "Motivation" by Normani. Sung by Sharice Winter.


	3. Chapter 3

Drew was relaxing in the choir room after school when he glanced a commotion out of the corner of his eye. Mrs. Berry was trying to force her way through the small door with several bulky instrument cases in her hands and wedged under her arms. He could see her struggling, and when she caught him looking she put on what he knew was a stage smile. "Hello!" she mouthed dramatically enough that anyone could see it from a mile away, then started saying something that he was pretty sure fell somewhere along the lines of "help me, please, I don't understand how doors work and now I'm stuck." Still, Drew was nothing if not kind, so he stood up from where he sat, walked over to her, and casually slid the smallest case out from the crook of her elbow and carried it to where some other instruments had already been set up (he wasn't sure if he was happy he wasn't roped into helping her bring in the drum set, or disappointed that he got to miss the spectacle).

Somehow she still managed to get all the way through on her own, and once she had deposited her cargo in the area she turned to him and - _oh no, she's trying to sign._

She put her verticle palm perpendicular to her head and pulled it away. "Hello." She pressed a flat palm to her chest and then began tapping two fingers from each hand on top of the other too many times. "My name name name is -" here she paused to remember. "Rechal. How are you?"

If Drew had a dollar for every time a hearing person tried to impress him with rudimentary ASL, he could afford to hire two full-time interpreters. He didn't care if their heart was in the right place or not, because all too often the story ended with them deciding that talking to him in his own language was too much work and they'd rather resort to text messages, or just not talking to him at all. Still, considering Mrs. Berry had already paid to use the community centre for the rest of the year and was presumably sticking around regardless of how her show choir experiment turned out, he decided there was no harm in having some fun with the situation. "I'm doing alright. We talked about dissecting frogs in school today, and a guy next to me threw up. That's fine, because we can't afford enough frogs for the whole class anyways and it's good to weed out the weak. They were serving donuts in the cafeteria and I managed to snag two. I wanted to try and give it to my crush Alejandra, but I don't think she knows I exist. Then I got to show off my math skills in the afternoon, and after school ended I came here to hang out because it's relaxing and I usually don't have to worry about hearing people coming in. I guess that's over now, isn't it?"

Rachel watched in awe as his hands signed faster than she could keep up. She wanted to pull out the pocket guidebook she'd picked up at the bookstore earlier that day, but she was worried she'd miss something - even though halfway through she realized that she'd lost any thread she could keep up with entirely. After pausing for a moment, Drew signed again - a fist up to the side of his face, he raised one finger and shook his head. This one she knew, and pointed at herself before repeating it. "I don't understand. No. But, I am learning Sign. I have a phone just in case."

These ones were a little less polished than the phrase she'd clearly been rehearsing all day. Drew pulled his phone out and typed a quick message on it before showing her. "Practice hard. If you can't commit, don't tease me."

Rachel read it and sighed, but she did a quick "O-K" with her fingers before typing a reply. "I'm going to practice very hard!!!"

Drew smirked. "Good luck if you mean it" he typed, and showed it to her before he put the phone back in his pocket and walked out of the room. As he roamed the halls looking around for his mom, he almost got bowled over by one of the glee kids. It was the same guy he'd almost run into back during auditions - Luke, he was pretty sure. The boy waved a quick "hey!" before proceeding into the choir room, and Drew ignored him to go find his mother.

He found her in her office, hunched over a computer with budgeting spreadsheets. Tapping her on the shoulder, she turned and smiled at him. "Hey, Berry's back and her kids are starting to show up."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know." She glanced at the spreadsheet. "Do you think we need any new chairs?"

Drew shrugged. "I don't know. That's your department. Why?"

"I'm just looking. Rachel signed a pretty big cheque and I was thinking that I could put some of it towards new supplies or furniture. Make this place look nice."

"Place looks very nice, mom." Drew paused and thought. "Actually, gym could use a little TLC. Stuff's peeling. There are smells." He grimaced and started to slowly spell something. "A-S-B-E-S-"

Tanisha laughed and pushed his hands down. "There's no Asbestos, the building isn't _very_ old." A pause. "I don't think it is." She bit her lip and grimaced. "You know what? I should dig out those old building plans just in case."

* * *

Luke walked in on Rachel setting up some of the instruments she'd just brought in. "Hey, Mrs. Berry."

"Hi Luke!" she replied. "Come here, you'll like this." She waved him over, and when he got there he saw her crouched over a selection of guitars and one ukulele. "My mom had some of these in storage and I was able to get them and bring them over."

Luke nodded appreciatively. "Awesome! Are they tuned?"

"I have no idea. And I don't play guitar."

The two shared a look of concern, and a few minutes later they were sitting across from each other. Luke had the guitar that he'd used the past few rehearsals, and Rachel held one of the ones she'd brought in. "Okay, E should sound like this." He plucked the string, and Rachel followed. "Okay, that's almost there." He reached over and twisted the nob before nodding at her to play again. "Okay, that's good."

"Guess it's not too different a sound from a piano."

"Yeah, what's a piano but an enormous four legged guitar?" Luke joked, getting a chuckle from Rachel. "It was nice of you to bring these in, in case some of the others decide to start playing." He played the next note, which Rachel copied.

"Well we had a few guitar players back in my day. Some of them in the club, some of them we roped in from the jazz band." Rachel adjusted the nob herself and played it back in pitch. "And you never know, some of our new members might play too."

"We have new members?"

"Not yet. But, I'm confident that they'll show up soon enough."

Luke sighed. "Yeah, as long as everyone else doesn't scare them off."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Uh...look." He set the guitar aside. "The people who got in - I mean, you had to accept them, we were all the only ones who auditioned. And everyone is a great singer. But I'm worried that there's gonna be some sort of..." He put his fingers together, then pulled them apart while making an explosion noise. When Rachel continued to look at him in confusion, he continued. "Julian is gunning for the lead vocalist, but he has a rivalry with Aaliyah so she's aiming for it too, and of course Camilla's supporting her because they're BFFs forever. It sounds like Beth wants to get in on that too."

Rachel groaned and set the guitar aside as she stood up. "No, not again, not already."

"Mrs. Berry?"

Rachel stood at the front of the room. "In my old glee club people were always fighting for the top spot too. Including me, I'm plenty guilty. But we got nasty. Friendships almost fell apart. Relationships too. It was a mess. I wanted to make sure you kids would learn to avoid that, but apparently they're going at it before I even had a chance to teach that lesson."

Luke shrugged. "I mean, I'm just happy to be here. I'm neutral. Like Sweden."

"Nuh-uh, you don't get to be Sweden," Beth declared as she marched into the choir room. "Pick a side Luke, we're drawing lines in the sand."

Aaliyah stormed in after her, with Camilla close behind. "Barbie, you gotta chill out before your tiny pretty head bursts into flame. I was doing you a favour, not to mention the club _as a whole_."

Beth wheeled around to look Aaliyah in the eye. "Um, going behind my back to recruit people to your side is not doing me a favour."

Tony quickly darted in, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "I have no part in this," he muttered as he quickly took a seat beside Luke. "They've been going at this since they saw each other across the street and I'm worried someone's about to throw hands."

The door swung closed as Julian strutted in, apparently close enough to have heard the preceeding arguments. "Blondie has a point, Aaliyah. Trying to get new members just so that they can support _your_ bid for captain? Shady."

"Thank you," Beth started, but Julian turned to her and cut her off with a snap in front of her face.

"However! I don't see what you're complaining about considering you already have the football stud in your corner."

"I already said I'm not part of this," Tony whimpered.

"Can we circle back around to the words 'going behind my back'?" Aaliyah snapped. "Because - who's back? This isn't your glee club."

Beth crossed her arms and looked at Rachel. "Well, it should be."

Rachel was still shaken by the argument that had made it's way into the room. "Enough!" she finally called. "You are supposed to be friends? Why are you fighting like this already!"

Julian raised his hand. "Uh, friends? I hardly know any of these people."

"Except for me," Aaliyah pointed out, "but we're nemeses, so we're allowed to fight."

"Exactly, thank you. This is healthy competition."

Rachel shook her head. "This is not a competition, and it certainly isn't healthy. All you're doing right now is being mean to each other instead of trying to be teammates. I will not allow such attitudes in this glee club!"

"What are you gonna do, kick us out?" Camilla mocked. "You need us. It's not like anyone else is knocking on the door asking to audition."

There was a knock at the door, and Camilla whirled around in shock, muttering a curse under her breath. Rachel gave the kids a glare before putting her show smile back on and opening the door.

Before her stood a fat teen boy with pitch black hair styled so it all stuck up in the middle. A silver earring hung from one ear, and despite what he must have heard from his side of the door he wore an expression of unflappable confidence. What struck Rachel the most, however, was the boy's unmistakable blue-and-red Dalton Academy blazer.

"Sorry to interrupt...whatever that was," the boy said. "This is where The Reprisals meet, right? The glee club?"

"Yes..?" Rachel asked warily.

"Awesome! My name's Reed Savage, and I'd like to audition."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains references to fatphobia, body shaming, and vomiting.
> 
> UPDATE: This chapter was revised Feb 2, 2021.

The glee club looked at Reed, most mouths agape except for Lucas and Tony's. After a moment of stunned silence, Tony decided to stand up. "Great! Welcome aboard!" He walked towards the door and reached his hand out, but Beth quickly put an arm in his way to stop him.

"Hold up stud, it's not that simple."

"Why? Oh, he has to audition, right."

"Uh-uh," Julian snipped. " _Spies_ don't get to audition."

" _whaaaat_ " Tony breathed.

Beth finally moved her eyes away from the boy in the door to look at Tony head on. "Time for your next lesson in the cutthroat world of show choir drama. Choirs send spies out to sabotage people all the time, and Dalton is the worst."

"It's true," Aaliyah added. "I heard there are undercover Dalton boys in half the show choirs in the midwest."

"Who. Is. Dalton." Tony begged.

Rachel had been pressing her hands to the side of her head. "Dalton Academy. It's an all boys private school with a notable acapella glee club, the Warblers. Or at least it was until it burned down ten years ago." She turned to Reed. "Sorry, you were probably expecting a warmer welcome than that. Still, you are wearing the Dalton blazer and you can understand the confusion."

"Nah, I get it. Dalton guys are assholes and I wouldn't mind my school going the way of the Columbus campus. But I go to the Akron campus, and nobody's committed arson there yet." A pause. "That I know of." He walked in, past the kids who had been arguing among each other moments ago, and dropped his backpack by the side of the room. "But I'm not here on their behalf. I want to join your glee club!"

"If you wanna join a club, then join the Warblers." Beth scolded. "I'm sure Akron has those too."

"If only it were that simple." Reed fired back.

* * *

_It's the Warblers. They're the twink mafia._

In the hallowed halls of Dalton Academy, a uniform mass of slender young men with immaculately coiffed hair march through the halls while beatboxing. As they approach a study area, Reed spots them in the distance and quickly gathers his things to flee.

 _They refuse to let anybody in who doesn't meet their standards, and if you can't do a double backflip into a_ Teen Vogue _photoshoot then you're just not cut out for the team._ I don't know if the ones from Columbus were any better, but all I've known since I started at that school was constant reminders that I'm the least attractive guy there.

In the cafeteria, Reed snags an extra piece of pie from the automat there. As he sits down at his table (alone), he spots a pair of Warblers looking at him from across the way. "What?" he snaps.

"Oh nothing," one of the Warblers sasses. "We were just wondering how you fit in that blazer when all you eat is food like that."

Reed sighs and shifts so that his back to them, then continues eating his food.

_Of course there are plenty who want to sell me on the soul-destroying diets that their own expensive personal trainers have them on._

A different Warbler harangues Reed as he tries to make his way to the washroom. "I swear, three weeks with Ivan and you'll have a summer bod ready to go. You'll have to replace all sugar with protein powder, but I think the results speak for themselves." The boy poses, and Reed looks at him in bewilderment. _I don't think anyone there has considered that I like the way I look._ Opening the door, Reed locks it behind him and approaches the mirror. He takes in his big frame and sighs, clenching his hands to the side of the sink and looking at his reflection as if it might reaffirm something. _I want to sing, but I'm not keen on puking my guts out in order to qualify for a team._

* * *

"That's why I was so hyped when I saw y'all performing online and still had spots open!" Reed finished.

"But...this is a Carmel glee club. I don't think you can audition without there being a conflict of interest."

"I hate to 'well actually', but...well, actually." Reed pulled his phone out and pulled up an image. "I checked the rules and technically this club isn't connected to Carmel High. It's attached to the Community Centre, which is open to anyone. Which means according to the rules, as long as I'm a student _somewhere_ in the city, I can be a member."

He showed the image to Rachel, who scanned the ruling that he'd dug up. "He's right," she said with surprise. "Alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt if we let you audition. But!" And she pointed a finger right at him. "If you do end up being a spy, there will be consequences."

"Gnarly. Anyway, um, does anyone here play guitar? I'd love some backing music."

"That's my cue!" Lucas called, jumping up with his guitar. "What are you looking for?"

"Do you know any Good Charlotte?"

"Hell. Yes." Lucas began jamming out some familiar chords before Reed did a small jump and started to sing.

 **Reed:  
** _Yeah!  
_ _Here we go!_

 _Its a new day,  
_ _But it all feels old  
_ _Its a good life,  
_ _That's what I'm told  
_ _But everything it all just feels the same!  
_ _And my high school,  
_ _It felt more to me  
_ _Like a jail cell  
_ _A penitentiary!  
_ _My time spent there it only made me see_

Reed didn't have much in the way of dance moves, but he made up for it in terms of energy and raw vocal power.

 _That I don't ever want to be like you!  
_ _I don't wanna do the things you do!  
_ _I'm never gonna hear the words you say!  
_ _And I don't ever wanna  
_ _I don't ever want to be  
_ _You!  
_ _Don't want to be just like you!  
_ _What I'm sayin' is:  
_ _This is the anthem  
_ _Throw all your hands up  
_ _You!  
_ _Don't want to be you!_

 **Lucas:  
** _Shake it once that's fine_  
 _Shake it twice that's okay_  
 _Shake it three times_

 **Reed and Lucas:  
** _You're playin' with yourself again!_

Reed jogged over to Lucas and head banged as the latter shredded a guitar solo.

 **Reed:  
** _You  
Don't wanna be just like you  
What I'm sayin' is  
_

 **Reed and Lucas:  
** _This is the anthem  
Throw all your hands up  
Now that you feel me  
Sing if you're with me  
You!  
_

 **Reed (with Lucas):  
** _Don't wanna be just like you (Don't wanna be just like you!)_

 **Reed and Lucas:  
** _This is the anthem  
Throw all your hands up  
Now that you feel me  
Sing if you're with me_

**Reed (with Lucas):**   
_Another loser anthem! (Whoa-oh!)  
Another loser anthem! (Whoa-oh!)  
Another loser anthem! (Whoa-oh!)  
Another loser anthem!_

As Lucas slammed the last few chords, Reed ended the song with a trio of fist pumps. Rachel, Tony, and Camilla immediately broke out into applause, and soon after the other three students did too - albeit begrudgingly. "Mrs. Berry, you've gotta let him in," Camilla declared. "I know we weren't exactly getting along earlier, but I would love nothing more than to use Reed's abilities to take out the sticks in Dalton."

"Okay, show choir isn't about vengeance, but I agree that that was an excellent audition. Mr. Savage, welcome to the Reprisals!"

"Woo!" Reed punched the air, then fistbumped Lucas. "Can't wait!"

"We're going to have to get you out of that blazer though," Julian muttered as he circled the new boy. "It's so last season."

"I'm just excited for another rocker!" Tony said with glee.

Aaliyah walked up behind Camilla. "Why are you vouching for him?"

"Because then he'll feel indebted to us and support your claim for the top spot," Camilla said without changing expression.

Aaliyah grinned. "Good call."

Beth sat in the back of the club as everyone ended up fawning all over Reed and his skills. After a moment of pitying herself, she pulled her phone out and sent a text to Monica.

"Can we talk?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song featured in this chapter: "The Anthm" by Good Charlotte. Sung by Reed and Lucas.


	5. Chapter 5

There were three major day spas in Akron, and while one was only a few blocks away from Carmel High, Beth was pretty confident that the members of Vocal Adrenaline would end up at the more high end one on the other side of town. So as soon as Reprisals rehearsal was done, she hopped in a cab and got there as fast as she could. Just as she was getting out of the cab, she saw Monica step out of the building.

She looked - wow. She hadn't realized how great her friend could look - usually it was Beth who went all-in on makeup and hair stuff, and Monica preferring a more relaxed look. But now Monica looked fresh and smooth and sparkling. Her hair was done and had some kind of magical sheen to it, and when Monica reached up to brush it out of her eyes Beth saw her nails polished immaculately. Gold. Like a winner. "Hey Beth!" she said cheerily.

"Hey!" Beth replied. "I'm glad my timing worked out. You're usually really efficient with stuff. I mean, you always hand your tests in first and have all your birthday gifts unwrapped in fifteen minutes. I figured you'd be done your spa stuff before everyone else."

Monica shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right. So what's up?"

"I just wanted to try and talk with you. I mean, I know we've both got busier schedules now...some moreso than others...but I don't want show choir to tear us apart, you know?"

Beth sat down on a bench outside the building, and Monica went to join her. "Beth, don't be silly. We're still going to be friends outside of this. Even if we go against each other in the competition."

"Yeah." Beth giggled. "You were probably right to not come to rehearsals, though. Things got a little heated at the start." Monica raised an eyebrow. "I was trying to keep a hold on the lead soloist position, but Julian and Aaliyah want it too and we got in a big fight. Then a kid came over from Dalton Academy and Rachel let him audition, so now there's even more people who'll be fighting for solos."

"But like...don't you need more people in order to even compete?"

Beth looked down at her shoes. "Yeah, yeah, I was just...I was hoping that they'd be a little more low-key so I wouldn't have to butt heads with them all the time. At least if I'd gotten into Vocal Adrenaline I'd know that you and me would be in it together."

"Hey, you're gonna be fine. And if they're offering me a solo already, then I'm sure you can beat out all those other kids in your choir. I haven't known you to give up on anything yet." Monica smirked. "And if all else fails you can play the sister card with Mrs. Berry."

Beth groaned and stood up. "I should, shouldn't I? I mean this show choir only exists because of me, I should get a little credit for that! But no, Rachel just keeps on passing me over for other students. Kids she doesn't even know!"

Monica stood up after he and held her by the shoulders. "Whoa, take a breath girl. Okay?" Beth halted and took a deep sigh. "Good. Okay. I know you're freakin' out, but trust me - next time you march your little blonde butt back into that choir room and sing your heart out, they're gonna know exactly how important you are to them. You get me?"

Beth nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, thanks." She threw her arms around Monica in a hug. "Thanks for the pep talk. I needed that."

"Of course! What are friends for?"

Beth awkwardly pointed behind Monica. "Speaking of friends...here come the rest of your new crew." Monica turned around to see Ivy and Patrick exiting the spa. "I'll see you over the weekend, maybe?"

Monica nodded. "I'll find a way."

The two waved goodbye to each other as Beth walked off to phone Rachel and get a ride home. Monica turned to face her Vocal Adrenaline cohorts. "How was the rest of the spa?"

"It was divine!" Ivy cooed. "Too bad you didn't stay longer, I bet you would have _loved_ it."

Monica smiled and nodded. "Yeah, well, I still got plenty of relaxation out of it. I guess I just don't like sitting still for too long though."

Patrick nodded towards where Beth had gone. "What were you doing talking to the riff raff?"

Monica looked back and giggled. "Beth? She's fine, she's my best friend. We've been together since, like, diapers basically."

Ivy and Patrick shared a knowing glance. "Oh, sure," Ivy replied. "I bet she's totally supportive of you getting into VA and her washing out."

Monica shook her head. "No! I mean, we had a little fight just after, but we've smoothed things over. And now she has her own show choir, so it's all good!"

Patrick nodded. "For now, at least. But trust me. Having friends outside of Vocal Adrenaline? That's a one way ticket to misery. Last year I was dating a guy who didn't make it on to the team, but we promised each other that it wouldn't get weird. But before you knew it he was complaining about the long rehearsals, how much better a singer I was getting, all of it. One day I caught him trying to sabotage our lighting set-up and I knew that I had made a mistake."

Monica scoffed. "Okay, that sucks but Beth isn't going to do anything like that."

"Monica, sweetie, I know girls like Beth, okay?" Ivy said. "She's gone through life getting everything handed to her. All the boys, all the solos, the whole buffet and leaving nothing but crumbs for you. See, when _I_ got into Vocal Adrenaline last year I actually did get in with my best friend. We had been inseparable. But whenever there was a chance for me to get a solo she convinced me that it was better suited for her and that I should take the back seat."

"Okay but Beth doesn't..." Monica's reply died on her breath because she knew that Beth had done that before. Even when she was auditioning she had told her that she shouldn't try to overdo it.

"Exactly. Now eventually me and my so-called BFF got into a huge spat about it and the Captain said that we should duel for our positions. Well, I blew her out of the water and she was kicked out, and I never heard from her again."

"That's terrible," Monica said shakily.

"No, that's business." Patrick patted Monica on the shoulder. "What we're trying to tell you is that from now on, your only real friends are the ones in Vocal Adrenaline. We're the people who are going to support you and be there for you. The rejects who couldn't make the cut...well, they're just going to spend all their time trying to take away what you have."

Monica heard what they were saying, but she refused to process it. She shook her head. "No, no way! Me and Beth are not going to end up like you and your ex, or you and your friend. We'll be fine! And if you two couldn't make it work then maybe you just didn't try hard enough."

Ivy gasped, and Patrick looked like he'd been slapped. "Wow," he said. "We were just trying to be nice to you. You know we're doing you a huge favour by giving you this much attention?"

"I-I know, sorry, it's just,"

Ivy took Monica's hand and led her over to the bench, stroking her hair. "We're just trying to help foster your talents. If you waste them trying to help out losers like miss Corcoran then, well, what is there to help separate us from them?"

Monica took a deep breath. "I know you're looking out for me, but you don't have to me so mean about it."

Ivy just smiled sweetly. "Monica, honey...are we gonna have a problem?"

Patrick sat down right on Monica's other side, making her jump. "You got a bone to pick?"

"You've come _so far_ , why now are you acting like a prick?" Ivy's smile shattered, and Monica looked at her with concern.

**Ivy:** _  
I'd normally slap your face off  
And everyone here could watch  
But we're feeling nice,  
Here's some advice  
Listen up biotch!  
_

The two upperclassmen jumped up and pulled Monica with them, and suddenly they found themselves back in the Carmel auditorium. Scores of Vocal Adrenaline members clad in red, yellow, and green began to dance downstage with corquet mallets, while Ivy and Patrick had traded out their comfy post-spa clothing for Green and Yellow blazers respectively. Monica, in a blue blazer, spun around and came face to face with Charles in a red blazer.

**Ivy and Patrick:**   
_I like!_

**Charles:**   
_Lookin' hot_   
_Buying stuff they cannot_

Charles loomed above Monica like a hawk, like he was waiting for her to make a wrong move, while Patrick and Ivy approached him from the side to back him up.

**Ivy and Patrick:  
** _I like!_

**Charles:  
** _Drinkin' hard_   
_Maxin' Dad's credit card_

**Ivy and Patrick:  
** _I like!_

**Charles:**   
_Skippin' gym_   
_Screwing her_   
_Scarin' him_

**Ivy and Patrick:  
** _I like!_

**Charles:**   
_Killer clothes_

**Charles, Ivy, and Patrick:**   
_Kickin' nerds in the nose!_

Monica broke into a run and started trying to get out of the auditorium, but found her way blocked by other choir members, who crossed their mallets in front of all the exits. When she looked back to the stage, the three Captains were marching towards her.

**Charles:**   
_If you lack the gall_   
_You can go play dolls_   
_Let your mommy fix you a snack_

**Ivy and Patrick:**   
_Woah!_

**Charles** :  
 _Or you could come smoke_  
 _Pound some rum and coke_  
 _In my Porsche with the quarterback_

**Ivy and Patrick:**   
_Woah! Woah! Woah!_

The three grabbed her shoulders and sat her down in a seat, piling around her to box her in.

**Charles, Ivy, and Patrick:  
** _Honey, what you waitin' for?_   
_Welcome to my candy store!_   
_Time for you to prove_   
_You're not a loser anymore!_   
_Then step into my candy store!_

Worming out from between them, Monica fled backstage, only to find Ivy standing in her way, and Charles and Patrick standing behind her.

**Charles and Patrick:  
** _Guys fall_

**Ivy:  
** _At your feet_

**Patrick:  
** _Pay the check_

**Ivy:  
** _Help you cheat_

**Ivy and Patrick:**   
_All you_

**Patrick:** _  
Have to do_

**Charles:**   
_Tell your friend "toodleloo"_

**Ivy and Patrick:**   
_That freak's_

**Patrick:  
** _Not your friend_   
_I can tell in the end_

**Charles and Patrick:**   
_If she_

**Ivy:**   
_Had your shot_

**Charles, Ivy, and Patrick:**   
_She would leave you to rot!_

Taking Monica by the shoulders, they led her back into centre stage - and into the spotlight.

**Patrick:  
** _'Course if you don't care_   
_Fine! Go braid her hair_   
_Maybe Sesame Street is on_

**Charles, Ivy, and Patrick:**   
_Woah!_

**Patrick:**   
_Or forget that creep_

**Ivy:**   
_And get in my jeep_

**Charles:**   
_Let's go tear up someone's lawn!_

**Charles, Ivy, and Patrick:**   
_Woah! Woah! Woah!_   
_Honey, what you waitin' for?_   
_Welcome to my candy store_   
_You just gotta prove_   
_You're not a pussy anymore_   
_Then step into my candy store_

Charles stood in front of Monica, spreading his arms wide like he was offering her the world.

**Charles:**   
_You can join the team_

**Ivy and Patrick:**   
_Or you can bitch and moan_

**Charles:**   
_You can live the dream_

**Ivy and Patrick:**   
_Or you can die alone_

**Charles:**   
_You can fly with eagles_

**Ivy and Patrick:**   
_Or if you prefer_

**Charles:**   
_Keep on testing me_

**Charles, Ivy, and Patrick:**   
_And end up like her!_

The trio pointed to the middle of the audience, and a spotlight fell on - Beth? Monica watched her pull out her phone and make a call. "I wish you could join _my_ glee club Monica. That way you could help me get all the solos, just like a good back up singer!"

"Yeah, sure..." Monica said out loud before catching herself. "Wait, what the hell?"

Ivy just marched up to her with a sickening grin.

**Ivy:**   
_Ooh woah woah!_   
_Honey, what you waiting for -_

Suddenly Charles grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her aside. "Shut up, Ivy!"

 **Charles:**   
_Step into my candy store!_

Ivy jumped back to her feet and took her position beside Patrick to back up Charles.

 **Charles (Ivy and Patrick):**   
_Oooh woah! (Time for you to prove)_  
 _Woah oh oh! (You're not a lame-ass anymore!)_

**Charles, Ivy, and Patrick:**   
_Then step into my candy store!  
It's my candy store_   
_It's my candy_   
_It's my candy store_   
_It's my candy_   
_It's my candy store_   
_It's my candy store!_

As the music faded, Monica found herself back in front of the spa. Patrick and Ivy sat with her on either side of the bench, and Ivy was holding up the latest iPhone to facetime Charles.

"See Monica, that's why associating with people outside of the team is usually verboeten. Now I'm not saying you can't be friends with Beth, but think about what we've told you here today."

Monica nodded. "Yeah. Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song featured in this chapter: "Candy Store" from _Heathers: The Musical_. Sung by Charles, Ivy, and Patrick.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back.

Beth got back to her home just in time to see the Chinese takeout van leaving, and when she got home the fresh smell of ginger beef, chicken chow mein, and steamed veggies hit her in the face. "Hi!" Rachel called from the kitchen. "I hope you like the stuff from Imperial Kitchen downtown - they had the best vegetarian options for me, and I kinda just guessed at what you might like."

Beth bit back a comment about how she could've figured that out over the summer, but she and Rachel had fallen into a tentative truce and she didn't want to blow that up over something small. At least, not tonight. Besides, she was hungry, so she grabbed a little bit of everything from the selection and sat down across from Rachel. "Thanks" she said before taking a few bites. It was good - not as good as the homecooked meals that Mrs. Yang made, but it hit the spot for now. "And yeah, this was a good pick."

"Oh good," Rachel said with relief. "Speaking of good picks, the club is really coming together. After you left early we did some vocal practices to get a better idea of where everybody falls. Julian and Luke are somewhere around Kurt's range, but Luke prefers things more on the rock side - and so does Tony. We never had many rockers in my club, but I guess Finn and Sam were in that genre the most. Reed you heard, of course. He reminds me of one of the kids I coached after I came back the first time. Aaliyah's got major Tina energy, and we can cultivate that into something really powerful. And Camilla's a regular Mercedes, so she'll be getting plenty of airtime.

Beth nodded slowly. "Uh huh." She figured all the names Rachel was dropping were people she'd been in Glee Club with back in the day. The New Directions - once major underdogs, but now everyone knew that they were responsible for Ohio becoming such a competitive ground for musical performance. After McKinley High became the William McKinley High School for the Performing Arts, all manner of fine arts programs started to flourish. It was great for getting a headstart, but also meant that everyone you went up against was pretty cutthroat. And to think, her sort-of-sister was at least partially responsible for that.

Well, Beth was nothing if not competitive. "Say, who do I sound like?"

Rachel smiled. "Well, obviously you sound like your mom. But you've also got the same kind of performing style I have - I think it's a little bit nature, a little bit nurture. Our mom was the same way."

Beth twitched at another mention of Shelby. "I guess it's cool that we've got that bit of connection between us. Um. Anyway, since you've got an idea of where everyone stands vocally, I had some ideas about solos -"

"Way ahead of you." Rachel darted towards her room, then returned with a small stack of sheet music. "I was thinking we could use this in Invitationals." She held one of the selections up to Beth.

""Firework"? What is it with you and the old songs?"

"They're not old!" Rachel whined. "At least, they weren't when I went to high school...look, I think that playing to people's nostalgia could be useful. Besides, Aaliyah would knock it out of the park."

Beth looked up from the sheet. "Aaliyah?"

Rachel nodded. "Oh yeah. She's got a very versatile vocal quality, I think she could be a ringer for anything if we need her to. Ooh, and what do you think about this for Julian?" Rachel held out another sheet, which had the _Wicked_ logo printed across the top.

"'Popular'." Beth noted. "A _Wicked_ song. Don't you and mom really like that show?"

"Well of course! Don't you?"

Beth nodded. "Yeah, yeah I do. I don't know, I was just hoping that maybe _I_ could get a solo from it...or at all."

Rachel waved her hand dismissively as she went back to her meal. "Oh don't worry, you'll be fine. I just want to help find a great song for you. In the meantime, you'll be able to do plenty of features and back-up singing for the rest of the team."

Beth clamped down on a scream.

* * *

"Wait. So...you're transferring to Dalton?"

Tony shook his head at Bradley's continued misunderstanding. "No, dude. Okay. I joined a glee club that isn't connected to any high schools. It's not a Carmel Club, it's not a Dalton club, it's its own thing. Me and the other kids who started it off were all from Carmel because that's where it was advertised, but a guy from Dalton saw it and realized he could join too." He paused to execute a combo with Trunks against Bradley's Android 18. "He's got a good voice, too. It's kind of exciting actually." Android 18 caught him in a combo of her own, but he had just enough health left to finish her off and win the round. "Ha! Gottem!"

Bradley groaned in defeat and flopped backwards on Tony's bed. "Dude, I didn't even know you sang."

Tony had stood up to grab the bag of chips on his desk. " _I_ didn't even know I sang. Good, I mean. But that girl - you remember the blonde freshman from football practice last week?"

"Yeah! She was having some kind of crisis?"

"Yup. Well, she convinced me to try out and her sister who runs it thinks I have a great voice."

Bradley furrowed his brow. "Sister...wait. Are you dating twins?"

"Dude, come on!" Tony hucked the bag of chips at his friend, and Bradely dramatically dove off the bed out of the way. "Pay attention!"

"I choose not to." He popped his head up from the floor. "I can sing too, ya know."

"Oh can you? Maybe you should try out then."

Bradley groaned. "No way bro. I wouldn't be able to like...read sheet music or play drums or anything. I'm built for football and not much else."

Tony reached a hand out and pulled Bradley off the floor. "Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll put in a good word for you." He sat back down at his bed and started the game up again. "C'mon, there's enough time before you head back home for me to kick your ass at least twice more."

* * *

Reed closed his door tight as the sounds of heated political debate grew louder from the living room downstairs. "Sorry, who was this again?"

"Camilla," replied the girl on his phone. "We met a glee club? I don't see how you could forget me, I make quite the impression."

"Right! Yeah, you vouched for me. Thanks for that!..though I wasn't expecting anyone to call this late. Or at all, I mean, I didn't even give any of the other club members my phone number yet?"

Camille smirked. "It's fine, I know how to sus these things out." She put her phone on speaker so she could talk and stitch at the same time. "But I don't know everything about you _yet_ , and that's why I'm calling. What's your jacket size?"

Reed looked at his phone in confusion. "I...really don't wanna talk about that. Why do you even need that?"

"I'm making matching jackets for the three of us."

"The three -"

"You, me, and Aaliyah. She's my best friend and I'm helping her reach female lead. With the two of us backing her up I'm sure we'll be able to cinch that spot, but it'll help even more if we present a united front. Hence: jackets."

Reed sat down at his desk. "That still doesn't explain anything. I didn't agree to this? Also why am I immediately relegated to the background?"

He felt a chill come through his phone. "Are you saying you want to be the centre of attention too?" Camilla asked icily.

Reed tried to stutter out a response, but Camilla beat him to it. "Just like you and Julian and all those other white boys thinking they can just slide in to a renegade glee club and take all the glory. Well guess what? You're out of the group! It's just me and Aaliyah from now on!" And she slammed her phone off. Reed just kept staring at his for a moment.

"Wait...what?"

* * *

"Wait, what?!" Aaliyah snapped into her phone. "Camilla, please tell me you didn't kick Reed out of the Reprisals."

"No, I just told him he was out of _our_ group. You know, now it'd just be you and me."

Aaliyah pressed her hands to her forehead and was thankful that her door was closed, preventing her parents from witnessing her teeter close to the verge. "You said you told him he was out of the group. No context. Camilla, we _need_ him. We need the numbers! I don't care if we're taking in obnoxious football players just to make the cut, we need to hang on to everyone we have."

Camilla scoffed. "Well, I was just trying to help."

"Cammie, I'm glad you're in my corner, but I need to do damage control." Aaliyah slammed her phone off before her friend had a chance to reply, then dialed Reed. "Hey! Sorry to bug you so late, but this is Aaliyah from glee club..."

The voice of a young boy came from the other side of the door. "Are you talking to a boy at night?!" he shouted.

"Get out of here Hamza!" Aaliyah shouted back while covering the mouthpiece. "It's networking! It doesn't count!" She turned back to her phone. "Sorry about that," she said in her best customer service voice. "Anyway, I hear you heard from my friend Camilla tonight. Here's the thing..."

* * *

"Are you still awake?" Julian's mom asked when she peered into his room. It was mostly dark, but Julian's red hair was illuminated by the bright red light of his computer.

"Yeah, sorry. I'll be going to bed soon."

"You better," she said as she gave an accusatory point. "Too much screen time and staying up late is bad for the vocal chords. And hand-eye coordination. If you keep this up you'll end up breaking something next time you try a roundoff."

Julian rolled his yes slightly to make sure she couldn't see. "I'm doing research on a potential rival, okay? It shouldn't take too much longer."

"Alright then," she said cautiously before leaving.

Julian turned back to his screen. "Alright Beth. Who are you really?"


End file.
